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I don't know anything about ALEC, but it sounds like they might be lobbying for government welfare programs for their members from this article.
Arizona activist groups protest ALEC Opponents: Model bills take power from communities by Alex Ferri - Apr. 12, 2012 09:24 PM The Republic | azcentral.com Several advocacy groups on Thursday released a report outlining the American Legislative Exchange Council's effect on Arizona politics and condemning its influence on lawmakers. According to the report, more than half of Arizona's state lawmakers affiliate with ALEC. ALEC describes itself as a nonpartisan national association of state legislators. Critics, however, say it is a conservative-based partisan lobbying group that brings together about 300 large corporations and 2,000 predominately Republican legislators on task forces to promote private business interests through model legislation. Lawmakers then take those bills back to their state legislatures in hopes of passing them into law. Todd Landfried, spokesman for Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform, said lawmakers aren't being loyal to their constituents when they use model legislation because voters expect lawmakers to write their own bills. "We didn't elect rubber stamps," Landfried said. "We elected lawmakers." Four groups contributed to the report: The People for the American Way Foundation, Common Cause, ALEC Exposed and Progress Now. The latest report updated findings published in November 2011. During a news conference, speakers highlighted several bills moving through the state Legislature they said ALEC had a strong influence on, including several education bills and one dealing with state employment reform. The groups urged lawmakers to stop supporting the organization. APS recently dropped its support of ALEC. Pepsi Corp., Coca Cola Co. and Kraft also have canceled their memberships in ALEC, according to the report. ALEC did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday, but an ALEC spokeswoman previously told The Arizona Republic that the organization is merely a "resource" for lawmakers. Janie Hydrick, a teacher in the Mesa public school system, said she is against ALEC-sponsored legislation because it forces communities to give up control of the education system and because out-of-state private interests don't belong in Arizona politics. Republic reporter Ginger Rough contributed to this article. |